Volunteer at the Cragmont Library!

Looking for a way to get involved in your student's school and reading? Help at the Cragmont Library!

We have about 500 books go in and out every week, and every one of those books has to be put back on the shelf so other students can try them out! If you are around school and have an extra 30 minutes, I would love help shelving, straightening, labeling and pulling books out for themes. Since students are still learning where things go, shelf reading (making sure a shelf is in the right order) is an important part of making sure our library is easy to use and a nice place to be.

In helping the library, you will be making the space more user friendly and may even come upon some new books to share with your students at home!

Please stop by the library and let me know if you can be a volunteer, I would love your help!

Award Winners for the New Year!

Happy New Year Cragmont Readers!

Every January, the American Library Association (ALA) announces its Youth Media Award for the previous year. Committees of librarians read thousands of books and decide which ones fit the bill for "best of."

Last week, the winners for 2010 were announced! Below are the ALA descriptions of each award and this year's winner:

Newbery Medal: Best novel for children 12 and under, written by an American Author. 2010 winners are...

• Medal Winner: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

• Honor Books: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm (author of the Babymouse graphic novel series); Heart of the Samurai by Margi Preus; One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia (takes place in Oakland in the year 1968); and finally Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman.
  

Caldecott Medal: Best illustrations for a children's book. 2010 winners are...

• Medal Winner: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead
• Honor Books: Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein; and Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill
  

Coretta Scott King Award: Honors African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults portraying the African American experience. 2010 winners are...

• Winner for author award: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (also an Honor Newbery book)
• Winner for illustrator award: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill (also an Honor Caldecott book)

Pura Belpre Award: Honors honor Latino writers and illustrators whose work celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's literature. 2010 winners are...

• Winner for author award: The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Winner for illustrator award: Grandma's Gift by Eric Velasquez

Siebert Medal: Best informational book for children. 2010 winners are...

• Winner: Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery
• Honors: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan; and Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: Best beginning reader book. 2010 winners are...

• Winner: Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo (of Winn-Dixie and Tale of Despereaux fame)
• Honors: We are in a Book! by Mo Willems (creator of pigeon and Knuffle bunny); and Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin
  

Schneider Family Book Award: Best book that "embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." 2010 winners are...

• Winner for ages 0-10: The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon

For more details about each award, lists of all honor books, plus information about all other ALA awards, click here and here. A complete list of all past winners can be found at the American Library Association website.

Uh oh! Lost or Damaged Library Books

Q: What happens when your student loses or damages a library book?

A: First of all, don't worry! If the book is lost, just keep looking around. Popular hiding places for books are:

• under the seat in the car
• in the back or side pockets of a car
  
• cubby at school
• on personal book shelves at home
• on classroom bookshelves
• in a stack going to the public library
• family member's house
• friend's house
• the afterschool lost and found closet in the auditorium

If you cannot find the book or a book is damaged beyond mending, families can either pay for a replacement book or can bring in a comparable book from home. If you choose to bring in a book from home, please make the sure book is

• hardcover
• gently used or new
• something that Cragmont students would enjoy

Missing books hinder your child's use of the library so it is important that we solve lost/damaged book issues quickly to get your student checking out new titles as soon as possible!

If you have any concerns or questions about missing or damaged books, please do not hesitate to talk to me! joverlid@berkeley.k12.ca.us or 510-644-8810.

cleaning house?

If you are cleaning out your student's bookshelf, please consider sending some of your gently used books to the Cragmont Library!

We are always looking for more of our favorite series paperbacks like Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Geronimo Stilton, Goosebumps, Captain Underpants and Secrets of Droon. These are all extremely popular and loved to pieces so replacements are always welcome! If the library cannot add them, I will make sure they get into a classroom library or save them for the Read-A-Thon in February 2011.

New Books!

Cragmont Library just received its Fall/Winter book order and many of our students are discovering new authors and subjects! In addition to Spanish translations of old favorites and next-in-the-series titles, we have several brand new additions that I was very excited to share.

Here are just a few of the newest additions to our collection!

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai: [picture book] Cheerful mother and daughter prepare soup together, simple, sturdy book about food and family, recipe included!

Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo: [non-fiction picture book] True story about an African penguin at the CA Academy of Sciences in San Francisco who lost all his feathers and needed a special wet suit.

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton: [non-fiction picture book] Ever wonder how we got day-glo yellows, pinks and greens? This brightly illustrated biography tells the story the two brothers who made it happen!

Smile by Raina Telgemeier : [memoir graphic novel] Author Raina tells the story of her own experiences in elementary and middle school dealing with braces, missing teeth and growing up. (One of my favorite books of the past few years!)

Spaceheadz #1 by Jon Scieszka: [illustrated chapter book] First book of a series complete with aliens, a talking hamster and new-kid anxiety.

My Life As a Book by Janet Tashjian (and her 15 year old son Jake): [chapter book with sprinkles of illustrations] Part mystery, part Diary of a Wimpy Kid, main character Derek is dreading his summer reading list and instead, decides to spend his time trying to figure out why his mother is so secretive about an odd newspaper article he found in the attic.

Mrs. Dalloway's part II

A big thank you to everyone who got some shopping done at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore this past weekend! Be sure to send in your receipts up to me, Mrs. Overlid, in the library by November 30th so that we can be reimbursed 20% of your purchase to use towards new materials.

More reviews and updates coming soon, we have had a fun November in the library full of baseball, clocks and tsunamis!

Mrs. Dalloway's Books, School Benefit Weekend!

This weekend, November 13 and 14, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore is hosting a school benefit for Cragmont Library!

Mrs. Dalloway's will reimburse the library for 20% of purchases made by Cragmont families! Get some holiday shopping done and bring your receipt into me, Mrs. Overlid, in the library by November 30th. We will use the funds to purchase new books and replace our favorite titles.

Books make fabulous and rewarding holiday gifts, here are some titles that Cragmont kids will no doubt love to receive wrapped up with a bow!

Chapter Books

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney: Of course, the newest installment of the Wimpy Kid series is sure to be on the top of wish lists!
• The Heroes of Olympus, The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan: This new series keeps our favourite people from Percy Jackson and introduces some Roman gods to go along with Greek mythology. Another sneakily-educational hit!
• The Popularity Papers by Amy Iganatow: Reviewed as Diary of a Wimpy Kid with more girl appeal, this brand new series is written as journal entries between two 5th grade best friends.
  

Picture Books

• Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly by Carolyn Parkhurst and Dan Yaccarino: Let's pretend we are hosting a cooking show with this sweet and funny story about a brother and sister cooking together (with recipe included)!
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney: One of my favorite picture book series, little Llama appears in his first holiday themed story.
  
• Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems: Good news/bad news for Knuffle fans. Good news, Knuffle Bunny is back for a third adventure, this time on a plane! Bad news: This could be Trixie's last Knuffle story.
  

Non-Fiction

• The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists by Sean Connolly: Great for curious minds, this experiment books offers fun activities and clear explanations for the science that makes it all work.
• Pop! The Invention of Bubblegum by Meghan McCarthy: Author of lots of fun nonfiction, Megan McCarthy tells the story of how bubblegum came to be the sticky sweet treat we enjoy today!